Eagles lookin’ ahead

As if he didn’t see enough different looks last season, Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams saw a few more this spring: quicker receivers, a thicker playbook and teammates looking for him to lead – all while coping with high winds that whipped Roos Field every … Read more

The Eastern Washington spring football game is history, but the players aren’t exactly marking time in the final three practices. Instead, head coach Beau Baldwin wants it to feel like overtime – a chance for some of the younger players to make an impression on the coaches that will last through the summer. Read more

If spring football is about progress, the Eastern Washington offense made plenty on Saturday. The Eagles found their way into the end zone five times, but more important found themselves at the Red-White Spring Game at Roos Field. Read more

Last weekend, Bo Levi Mitchell was reminded why he came to Eastern Washington University in the first place. Loyalty, the kind that brought Mitchell to Roos Field last weekend to watch his brother Cory catch a few balls at practice – the same kind of loyalty he repaid Eastern three years ago. Read more

Something was missing last fall for football player Cooper Kupp: football. With a scoreboard. Against an opponent who is not wearing the same uniform. Read more

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This is the longest spring quarter of Brandon Kaufman’s life. And it’s only April. Kaufman is still enrolled in classes at Eastern Washington and trying to pay attention to the lecture board while his mind wanders to the big board that will go up tonight in New York. Read more

The film confirmed what everybody saw at Saturday’s Eastern Washington football scrimmage: The offense struggled at times. Why it struggled was the pertinent question before Tuesday’s practice, and of course the answer wasn’t simple: Read more

The film confirmed what everybody saw at Saturday’s Eastern Washington football scrimmage: The offense struggled at times. Read more

This is the last of an eight-part look at Eastern Washington spring football: special teams. Something special happened at Roos Field on Oct. 6, something Eastern fans hadn’t seen in 18 games: a kickoff return for an Eagle touchdown. But Shaquille Hill’s 99-yard return against North Dakota didn’t start at the 1-yard-line; it began last spring, when head coach Beau Baldwin decided to add a cornerbacks coach, allowing assistant Jeff Schmedding more time to focus on special teams. “I think our (kickoff return) personnel was better, but I think we did a better job with extra time, being more efficient with our time and getting things truly taught from spring on,” said Schmedding, who still coaches the Eagle safeties. … Read more

This is the seventh of an eight-part look at Eastern Washington spring football: the defensive backs. It’s been year of surprises – most of them pleasant – for the Eastern Washington secondary. Tighter pass defense last season, the rise of several younger players and the arrival of a high-profile transfer brighten the outlook for one of the Eagles’ deepest units. Better yet, Jeff Schmedding doesn’t have to coach them all. … Read more

This is the sixth of an eight-part look at Eastern Washington spring football: the linebackers. The questions at linebacker at Eastern Washington are already being answered, some from the back of the room. First there’s redshirt freshman Miquiyah Zamora, last seen redshirting last fall as a defensive back but now finding a place in the middle of the field. … Read more

This is the fifth of an eight-part look at Eastern Washington spring football: the defensive line.  One good reason the Eastern Washington defensive line got better last November? April. “Spring ball, I look at as a time to develop depth,” defensive line coach Ryan Sawyer said. “I’m always trying to figure out not who’s the backup, but who’s the guy after that.” Sawyer and defensive coordinator John Graham have plenty to sort through this spring; the Eagle rosters includes 15 defensive linemen, and should be a strong group despite the loss of three starters. The key was a deep rotation, often 10 a game, which kept the Eagles fresh late in games as well as late in the season. … Read more

This is the fourth of an eight-part series on Eastern Washington spring football: the offensive line.  The Eastern Washington offensive linemen got some healthy respect year. But first they had to get healthy .  A year after being one of the biggest question marks on the team, Aaron Best’s unit may be one of the best in the Big Sky Conference. … Read more

This is the third in an eight-part look at Eastern Washington spring football: the wide receivers. Junior Adams is ready to branch out. The Eastern Washington University wide receivers coach doesn’t have a lot of tall players this spring, but he does have guys “who can run the whole route tree.” That includes the curls and comeback routes that may make the Eastern passing game more diversified than in the past. … Read more

This is the second in an eight-part look at Eastern Washington spring football. Part Two: the quarterbacks. Vernon Adams isn’t your little brother anymore. Last year, he was looking up - literally and figuratively - to wide receivers Brandon Kaufman, Nick Edwards and Greg Herd, as well as transfer quarterback Kyle Padron. Adams is still 5-foot-11, but after a breakout redshirt freshman season, he’s gained a lot of stature in Cheney and in the Big Sky Conference. … Read more

Spring football is full of teachable moments, and thanks to a change in the schedule, the Eastern Washington coaches and players have more of them than ever. Spreading 15 practices and scrimmages over a five-week period, instead of four weeks, has been “much more conducive to teaching,” head coach Beau Baldwin said before practice Tuesday afternoon at Roos Field. Read more